WGU Washington tops 10,000 student enrollment milestone

For the first time ever, WGU Washington’s enrollment has topped 10,000 students.

The online, competency-based university graduates and adds new students every month, year round – and the addition of this month’s new starts pushed enrollment to 10,076 – the highest figure since the university launched in 2011.

The person recognized as the 10,000th student is Elizabeth Shin of Seattle.

Shin started work on her master’s degree in Integrated Healthcare Management this month. She works as an imaging technologist in Seattle and enrolled in WGU Washington through the SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund – one of the university’s strategic partners.

“I chose WGU Washington for my master’s because it’s online and I can study when it’s convenient for me,” Shin said. “I’m passionate about using new technologies to raise the potential and quality of healthcare. What I’ll learn in my degree program will help me make a greater impact in that area.”

To celebrate, the university is offering its largest scholarship opportunity ever: the WGU Washington 10,000 Students Scholarship. Three scholarships are available, each worth up to $10,000 ($2,500 per term up to four terms). The awards can be used for any of WGU Washington’s more than 60 degree programs.

In addition to over 10,000 currently enrolled students, WGU Washington has granted bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, IT, teacher education and health professions to well over 7,000 graduates. The university’s students and alumni live in all 39 counties in this state and work in nearly 4,000 businesses.

“Since our state’s Legislature helped create WGU Washington in 2011, the university has become an important solution to several, significant issues facing our state – including a widening skills-gap in the workforce and skyrocketing tuition costs in higher education,” said Jean Floten, chancellor of WGU Washington. “Additionally, our university is allowing Washingtonians to gain new knowledge and skills and, in turn, create better lifestyles for themselves and their families.”